ESPN Tournament Challenge brackets stay open right up until tipoff of the very first NCAA tournament game; once that game begins, all ESPN brackets lock and you can’t make any new entries or changes.

Key timing for 2026

  • ESPN brackets open in the afternoon on March 19, 2026, after the field is set and loaded into the game.
  • Brackets close at tipoff of the first Round of 64 game on Thursday, March 19, 2026, which ESPN is listing as 12:15 p.m. ET for the men’s Tournament Challenge.
  • After that first game starts, every bracket in every group is locked for the rest of the tournament.

Practical advice

  • Aim to have your final picks in the night before, so you’re not scrambling right before noon Eastern on Thursday. Many sites get slow right before lock.
  • The game setting is “Game Locking: When First Matchup Begins,” so don’t rely on any later tipoff; once that first game is underway, you’re done.

Mini example

If the first Thursday game tips at 12:15 p.m. ET, someone who submits at 12:14 p.m. ET gets in, but a person hitting submit at 12:16 p.m. ET will find entries closed and their bracket uneditable.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.